Thursday, October 13, 2011

I was going through the picture file folders on my computer when I came across my kitchen before and afters. I thought I would share these because

1. Who doesn't love before and after pictures??!!

2. This was a budget redo, maybe 1000 dollars (that is including a couple of new appliances). We have a spanking new kitchen right now...but our old house (pictured above) had been built in 1989 and had never been updated. Brass hardware and oak galore throughout the house. I know there are lots of families who have a small budget for renovating. Maybe this will give them some ideas.

Here is the old kitchen...

And here it is after...

Things we did:
1.New appliances (microwave,stovetop,oven)

2.Painted the walls and the cabinets

3. I had about 30 cabinet handles in this old kitchen. I could not afford all new ones so I took them all off, laid them all out on a big sheet of cardboard and painted them with several coats of black spraypaint. Worked great (saw it on HGTV)!

4. Added under cabinet lighting...I also have this in the new house. I'm addicted!

5. Hung my old potrack light fixture in place of the horrible dated brass one.

6.Replaced the dated sink and faucet with a cream colored sink and antiqued bronze faucet. We also slowly changed out all of the hardware in the house to this as our budget would allow.

I wanted new countertops and wood floors. That would have looked great. But on a strict budget I think I made the most of what I had at my disposal.

So there it is! If you only have a tiny budget you can still redo the kitchen with lots of paint,bargain shopping, and doing lots of the labor yourself.♥

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

I like the idea of transitional childrens' rooms. After the nursery years are gone, I like a room that can double as a guest room and grow with a child into the teenage years. It also seems more budget friendly. I can do a lot more, a lot longer, with this old painted full size bed than with a big castle shaped bunk bed. It doesn't hurt that this bed was free. All it took was lots of cleaning and paint to put her back together and give her a fresh new look.: )

This old bed was about to rot out in my Mom's little barn 8 years ago. She had planned to make a porch swing out of it but I convinced her to give it to me for my guest room. We cleaned it up, I painted it, and completely fell in love with it once it was white!

I got the pair of nightstands for $35. I painted them white and added the little glass knobs. My mom painted the lamp white. The little shelf in the corner I got for a few dollars somewhere a few years back. I painted it white too!

This little desk I recently scored at roundtop for $20.

This rocker and stool were a baby gift and matched her nursery when she was a baby. She had the most AMAZING nursery!

Now I need to get my other daughter's room together. For me, decorating is like a fun version of writing a term paper. Starting is the hard part but once I get going I get really into it. Editing at the end is the best part of all...putting in all the details and finishing touches that really make it shine. I love looking at all of your blogs so much for inspiration and ideas. There are some amazingly creative women on my feed. So glad we can all share our homes with like minded vintage lovers. Have a great day!♥

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Welcome to the porch! Pull up a swing. My passions in life are art and antiquing. I dabble in design, photography and blogging. I really love old farmhouses and prairie chic style. I'm so glad you stopped by, please visit often!♥